OMANBALA1:



More like a realist. I say it like it is ,no sugarcoating. But I agree I am a bit stern,very stern and a [b]disciplinarian[b].

when I hear these words, i remember my RECTOR back then @ jnr seminary... man was strict to bone marrow... he always claims to be a disciplinarian
he made me hate that word and everybody who claims to be such

Hope u ain't strict to bone marrow else I will develop an automatic hate for u

Liamm:
I'm a critic of Iwobi too but the performance he put out yesterday underscores the saying that indeed " form is temporary and class is permanent"(borrowed). He was only let down a couple times by his end product after completing a successful take-on. Something we barely witness when he's clad in the GWG. I reckon it's lack of understanding on the part of his teammates at club level

Alright, I now have an idea what exactly happened. One thing you have to understand is that Iwobi is judged like every other senior player. He's no longer the baby of the team, if he had this sort of game a couple of years ago, people would have been swooning about his prospects.
This is no longer the case, he is judged now mostly on his end product and rightly so.

Joebie:
ANALYSIS

---

Is Josh Onomah facing an identity crisis at Aston Villa?
by Jack Nason 6 days ago Follow @nasonwrites



Young players are often sent out on loan to gain experience and develop raw footballing talents. After a successful summer in the England set-up, Josh Onomah came to Aston Villa in order to do just that.
The start of the Championship campaign allowed the Tottenham-loanee to express himself amongst Steve Bruce’s side and he impressed. Subsequently, attention turned to the youngster’s future beyond this season. Since then, his form has been indifferent and his future remains uncertain. Has Onomah spiralled into a confusion over his playing career whilst at Villa?

Bit harsh- the kid’s only 20?
It is a very fair point. Personally, I was quite impressed with Onomah’s performance at the beginning of the season. WhoScored award him an average rating of 6.69 for his Championship appearances. Meanwhile, the player has contributed four goals and an assist during his time at the club. Key goals against Bristol City and Sunderland ensured that Aston Villa saved and won points. At the same time, the player seems to have frustrated certain Villa fans with his performances:

The Villa Villain @UTV31. So we've been linked to a young 21yr old midfielder from @LFC Grujic ? Please Bruce no more kids from other clubs use our own and send Onomah back to @SpursOfficial as he's a bag of nuts you think he's good you must watch a different game to me #avfc

Conversely, there are others who believe that Steve Bruce is not utilising Onomah in the correct way. Whilst the Villa boss has positioned him further forward in the number ten role, others believe he is better suited to a deeper role.

GIGGS SHARMA @GiggsSharma. Onomah is getting a lot of flack at the moment- he Isn't a no10- he is a CDM- he was player of the tournament for England u20 when we won the World Cup and bossed games playing CDM- we should drop whelan and play him in his proper position

The fans are confused? What must be going around the player’s head?
As alluded to above, there is an argument that too much is going through the player’s head. Onomah hit his most consistent form in November, according to WhoScored. At that time, talk began to turn to the future. Would Onomah remain at the club in the long-term?

The player provided the answer himself to the Birmingham Mail, with an article posted on 22nd November. Within the article, the twenty-year-old made his intentions clear: he wanted to help Villa achieve promotion before returning to his parent club. Thereafter, many feel that the player’s form has dipped. A notably poor performance occurred against Leeds United.

As a youngster, it is natural that such games will happen. Ability is not the issue that has led to Onomah’s dip in form, but uncertainty could definitely have contributed.

Meanwhile, supporters of Tottenham Hotspur have also been discussing the player:

*As a disclaimer for the following paragraph, none of the opinions expressed by supporters can be regarded as completely authentic. However, the ideas are definitely worth speculating about.*

A Spurs forum, www.spurscommunity.co.uk, held an intriguing discussion about Onomah yesterday evening. One fan, who claimed very tenuous links to the player, argued that the youngster is unhappy with his advanced position. He also alleges that the player had previously been frustrated by his treatment by Mauricio Pochettino. In addition, there are also suggestions made that Aston Villa have offered him a permanent deal.

Pressure On Young Shoulders
Although an interesting read, the forum is by no means an acceptable source to report. Nonetheless, there are elements of truth in the post upon which speculation could rise. It is true that rather than the number ten role that Onomah has occupied for Villa, he played in a deeper-lying position during the Under-20 World Cup last summer. Therefore, one may understand a sense of frustration if positioning is an issue for Onomah.

Furthermore, the player may be conflicted over the club at which his development can be best carried out. Clearly, the player wishes to return to Spurs after completing his loan stint at B6. However, other players such as Harry Winks have emerged during his absence.

Winks has also occupied the deeper-lying role that fans suspect Onomah prefers. Therefore, the Villa-loanee must be even more desperate to impress before he returns.

This is a situation made even more complicated by the resurgence of Aston Villa’s own Jack Grealish. His recent good form could well halt Onomah’s return to the starting eleven following the loanee’s concussion at Middlesbrough. Compounded by an array of midfield options, the Tottenham youngster may have to be patient to obtain another chance at impressing.

Patience From Player And Fans
Both Onomah and the Villa faithful must be patient. The loanee’s impressive performances at the beginning of the season must be taken into account. As above, the slight lull in consistency following the Birmingham Mail article owes itself to uncertainty rather than a lack of ability.

A lot goes around the mind of a twenty-year-old, whether they are a student or a future star football player. If there is any truth in the Spurs’ forum post, the player must await his time. Let us not kid ourselves either, Onomah will be a very good player in a few years time. Onomah just needs nurturing.

Those who argue that we should be supporting our own youngsters have a decent point, but the season is still long and our depth may be our strength. There’s a lot more to come from Onomah yet!

--ClaretVillans . com

Typical of of what happens to young players that hit gear early.

Being that he has been around for quite some time it is hard to believe he is just 20.

goldfish80:


Alright, I now have an idea what exactly happened. One thing you have to understand is that Iwobi is judged like every other senior player. He's no longer the baby of the team, if he had this sort of game a couple of years ago, people would have been swooning about his prospects.
This is no longer the case, he is judged now mostly on his end product and rightly so.

You get the point.

The expectations on him are high right now. The bar has been raised for him.

He on his part really needs to rise to the occasion or fall completely out of favor.

Coaches do not ignore the voice of the fans for too long o.

Could this be what is affecting the likes of Isaac Success?

OPINION

---

Former Man City star questions hunger of young players after Tosin Adarabioyo spends £2.25m on a mansion

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Young players are getting too much, too soon and the 'hunger' is being taken out of them by Premier League clubs.

That's the view of Paul Dickov, following The Sun's revelation that Manchester City's 20-year-old defender Tosin Adarabioyo has splurged £2.25million on a mansion.

Adarabioyo has never started a league game for City but takes home a weekly wage of £25,000-a-week.

Dickov said: I'm a huge believer of going back to the days when I was an apprentice; you got your grounding, you learnt your discipline, you were cleaning boots and changing rooms and you had to earn the right not just to get in the first team squad but to earn every penny you have got and keep that hunger there. That has slightly gone away from the game.

“You look at the England Under-17s, Under-19s, Under-21s going really well, winning things and everything else, and you want to keep that hunger there and not be given too much, too soon. That is what is happening at the minute and you wonder why they are not progressing.”


--TalkSport . com

krattoss:
sometimes it's not easy for these coaches oooo. .
if Wenger was a jittery kinda coach, he would have bowed to criticism in his players a long time ago, but reverse is the case...maybe just like mourinho said, HE HAS THE SAFEST JOB ON THE PLANET

Anyone conversant with Wenger's management style will know that he will definitely start Iwobi after the party incident.
He did same with Wilshere when he was involved in a bar fight and night club , Sczezney and the cigarette smoking incident. Wenger went out of his way to start these guys despite the bad presser.
Physiologically, the players are heavily indepthed to him and such owe him big performance. This is pure reverse psychology.
This explains why he is much loved by his players

Icon4s:


You get the point.

The expectations on him are high right now. The bar has been raised for him.

He on his part really needs to rise to the occasion or fall completely out of favor.

Coaches do not ignore the voice of the fans for too long o.

Exactly! Iwobi is now an international player other young players look up and aspire to follow his footsteps. It's all about end product now. The likes of Nathan Miles and Nelson are the babies of the team and they can be excused for about a couple of mistakes on the pitch.
The fans are paying customers. They pay premium to watch their club. The customer is always right (no be me talk am)

Icon4s:


You get the point.

The expectations on him are high right now. The bar has been raised for him.

He on his part really needs to rise to the occasion or fall completely out of favor.

Coaches do not ignore the voice of the fans for too long o.

.

You know I wouldn't miss it naa.... I shared it several hours ago

TheGoodJoe:
I do not know if this was shared here.


A fresh challenge

City youngster Chidi Nwakali has agreed a loan deal at Aberdeen, subject to a work permit.

The 21-year-old Nigerian midfielder, who recently had a loan spell with Norwegian side Sogndal Fotball, will join the Dons until the end of season.

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes is pleased to see the deal for Chidi get over the line.

“Manchester City have been very keen for Chidi to get some competitive game time and it’s a deal we’ve been working on for a couple of months now, so I am delighted to welcome Chidi to the club.
I’m sure he will be a positive addition to our squad.”

Chidi is hoping to force his way in to the Nigerian World Cup squad, which could mean he would come up against fellow Don, Kari Arnason, who hopes to be in the Icelandic team.
Chidi has joined the squad in Dubai and will train with his new teammates this afternoon.

goldfish80:

Exactly! Iwobi is now an international player other young players look up and aspire to follow his footsteps. It's all about end product now. The likes of Nathan Miles and Nelson are the babies of the team and they can be excused for about a couple of mistakes on the pitch.
The fans are paying customers. They pay premium to watch their club. The customer is always right (no be me talk am)

Sure they have seen the last couple of goals he scored for Nigeria and so they would expect same if not more from him at Arsenal.

His end product for Nigeria is always top notch so why can't he do same or more for Arsenal that nurtured him and are paying his salary?

Isahalbash:




They don't want to make mistake to please dere mumu coaches.. shey na only dem dey play for field ne? oda players they play wetin dey dere minds, but our own nd to dey act like robot wei dem used 0 nd 1 programmed.


This is d reason me like that Onyekuru guy, d guy can dribble like ps1. Messi, Neymar even sallah no send anyone, they play what's in their minds, they don't care what people will say especially Neymar dat spoils ball sometimes nd he's doing fine nd one of d best player in d world ryt now abi nah mbappe of yesterday?



In life, don't do things to please anyone, do it for yourself nd people will celebrate you in d long run even if they criticize you today.

My bruh, I feel your point but objectively or should i delicately put it as in reality, it doesnt always work like that. Victor Moses that you mentioned has been bounced around from place to place in the name of loans and for the first time in his career, he is playing week in week out in a role he never even knew he could play in. That is discovery. Asking him to do more can have great consequences on the outcome of the team. For those that appreciate Classical / Orchestra music, each instrument is assigned at a particular time to sound. Some sound all through the piece of music, others give sense of rhythm while some just give the tingle. Thats the same thing in football. The Maestro(coach) directs the play. Hence the playing according to instructions.

Comparing what moses does to that of Willian is a little off cos they dont do the same thing. They dont play the same role. The quality of Willian is not in doubt. He can dribble, score freekicks and all these are well documented for his coach to see. Hence when deciding on his game plan, the coach knows what he wants to achieve and if a player starts to do otherwise, then he is inviting the wrath of the coach. Plain and simple.

There is beauty in simplicity. Not everyone can play like messi, neymar or Mbappe. Why? Their quality is not in doubt. And so they can get away with loss of possession every now and then because of their return. Henry Onyekuru has always been bold to dribble, he played for a low level team and if thats how he gets his results and his coach likes it, then so be it. Now he plays for Anderlecht and the coach is complaining that he dribbles too much and cannot play as a 9. You see where I am getting at?

Bottomline of what we saying here has more to do with ability to play to instructions. Thats maturity and discipline. If Moses wants to play his own stunts at club level, then he should switch to maybe a low level club where they wont mind if he dribbles the whole team. Unfortunately, he bacame a lot popular recently by reason of being a wingback. And sadly, that is how he will always be seen goin forward, especially in England.

Icon4s:


Sure they have seen the last couple of goals he scored for Nigeria and so they would expect same if not more from him at Arsenal.

His end product for Nigeria is always top notch so why can't he do same or more for Arsenal that natured him and are paying his salary?

Could be a matter of opponent. With Arsenal, he faces more disciplined opponents than he has done so far with Nigeria.
The world cup will be a litmus test for him,because he will be facing highly technical, disciplined and defensively rigid teams. This is why most world cup matches are boring and drab.

Just out of boredom, if the world cup was starting next week this will be my 23 man list

Ezenwa
Uzoho
Akpeyi (Sadly)


Balogun
Ekong
Shehu
Aina
Omeruo
Ebuehi
Idowu


Mikel
Ndidi
Ogu
Etebo
Joel Obi
Moses
Iwobi
Simon
Onazi

Iheanacho
Ighalo
Musa
Osimhen (for future benefit)

My thinking is, maybe we are not as good as we think we are.

kennysville:



My bruh, I feel your point but objectively or should i delicately put it as in reality, it doesnt always work like that. Victor Moses that you mentioned has been bounced around from place to place in the name of loans and for the first time in his career, he is playing week in week out in a role he never even knew he could play in. That is discovery. Asking him to do more can have great consequences on the outcome of the team. For those that appreciate Classical / Orchestra music, each instrument is assigned at a particular time to sound. Some sound all through the piece of music, others give sense of rhythm while some just give the tingle. Thats the same thing in football. The Maestro(coach) directs the play. Hence the playing according to instructions.

Comparing what moses does to that of Willian is a little off cos they dont do the same thing. They dont play the same role. The quality of Willian is not in doubt. He can dribble, score freekicks and all these are well documented for his coach to see. Hence when deciding on his game plan, the coach knows what he wants to achieve and if a player starts to do otherwise, then he is inviting the wrath of the coach. Plain and simple.

There is beauty in simplicity. Not everyone can play like messi, neymar or Mbappe. Why? Their quality is not in doubt. And so they can get away with loss of possession every now and then because of their return. Henry Onyekuru has always been bold to dribble, he played for a low level team and if thats how he gets his results and his coach likes it, then so be it. Now he plays for Anderlecht and the coach is complaining that he dribbles too much and cannot play as a 9. You see where I am getting at?

Bottomline of what we saying here has more to do with ability to play to instructions. Thats maturity and discipline. If Moses wants to play his own stunts at club level, then he should switch to maybe a low level club where they wont mind if he dribbles the whole team. Unfortunately, he bacame a lot popular recently by reason of being a wingback. And sadly, that is how he will always be seen goin forward, especially in England.

baba u deserve a punditry job..

goldfish80:

Could be a matter of opponent. With Arsenal, he faces more disciplined opponents than he has done so far with Nigeria.
The world cup will be a litmus test for him,because he will be facing highly technical, disciplined and defensively rigid teams. This is why most world cup matches are boring and drab.

But Argentina was a grade A opposition.

And I must also point out that some of those African defenses are very difficult nuts to crack o.

Icon4s:


But Argentina was a grade A opposition.

And I must also point out that some of those African defenses are very difficult nuts to crack o.

Being grade A doesn't mean defensively solid. They were totally out of shape in the 2nd half. I would think they went gongho and played to our hands.

Arsenal for instance is a grade A team but against Nottingham, they couldn't maintain any defensive shape and they got tanked 4:2. Being grade A means little in this context.


African teams are mostly physical. They are not famous for playing organised football. Egypt and Morocco are the 2 teams that is a total departure from African football in terms of organisation and structure on the pitch.

Mujtahida:
Martins! I catch you

Icon4s:


You are playing England o. And not some other country.

I can assure you there will be at least 44,000 Nigerian origin fans trying to get tickets. Add all the other West Africans and the rest of Africa who will adopt Nigeria.

Getting tickets willl be problematic.

Wembley will be full.

wayodude:
Just out of boredom, if the world cup was starting next week this will be my 23 man list

Ezenwa
Uzoho
Akpeyi (Sadly)


Balogun
Ekong
Shehu
Aina
Omeruo
Ebuehi
Idowu


Mikel
Ndidi
Ogu
Etebo
Joel Obi
Moses
Iwobi
Simon
Onazi

Iheanacho
Ighalo
Musa
Osimhen (for future benefit)

My thinking is, maybe we are not as good as we think we are.

LOL....if we go by this your funny list, yes, we are pathetic.

goldfish80:

Being grade A doesn't mean defensively solid. They were totally out of shape in the 2nd half. I would think they went gongho and played to our hands.

Arsenal for instance is a grade A team but against Nottingham, they couldn't maintain any defensive shape and they got tanked 4:2. Being grade A means little in this context.


African teams are mostly physical. They are not famous for playing organised football. Egypt and Morocco are the 2 teams that is a total departure from African football in terms of organisation and structure on the pitch.

Egypt and Morocco are more Arabian than African....this your narrative is funny. The closest countries to being white just happen to be the most organised, okay

wayodude:
Just out of boredom, if the world cup was starting next week this will be my 23 man list

Ezenwa
Uzoho
* Akpeyi (Sadly)
*


Balogun
Ekong
Shehu
Aina
Omeruo
Ebuehi
Idowu


Mikel
Ndidi
Ogu
Etebo
Joel Obi
Moses
Iwobi
Simon
Onazi

Iheanacho
Ighalo
Musa
Osimhen (for future benefit)

My thinking is, maybe we are not as good as we think we are.

Why Skeptic, and why sound so negative in your last sentence?

goldfish80:


As it stands, I am quite skeptical about our chances in Russia. We cant be heading to the congregation of the best athletes in the world with[b] just 1 in form player (a 20 year old playing for a mid table English club[/b]) and expect magic.

Did anyone see the Gernot Rohr super sports interview where he called his players "average players warming the bench in their clubs"?
I read that and felt he was directly responding to the 94/2018 debate we had here last December. Lol

I share your concerns.

Your observations are not in dispute. But having read numerous posts by you. I will qualify it with an assumption to bring clarity. That you are highlighting that we have only one outstanding player playing in a top league that's consistent and in form. That player would be Ndidi, his age irrelevant.

However. I would bring in Victor Moses and Iwobi as playing top flight although not as consistent as Ndidi. But top performing yes.

The rest of our entire defensive line up of CB's are either playing in the backwaters of Turkey or struggling to make first team in a bottom of the league Bundesliga team that I would equate on par with an English Championship team if not lower.

We have China crew of players excluding Obagoal. And players who are not even the stand out players in thier far from highly rated leagues.

Every team that has got to the final of the World cup has had the larger % of its players playing in the top leagues of the World. In addition with a good number of World class or emerging top quality outstanding players in the team.

Considering my observations would you say that's reflective of the SE Team spirit can only get you so far but Quality will propel you Further.

Deleted

Joebie:
Based on what I have seen so far in Championship games this season, it's not what you are always trying to make it seem.
I have the luxury of replaying those games. No one can say something over and over again and think they can brainwash me into believing it. Please stop hyping the Championship.

The next thing you will say is, you go in person to watch these games. But when I ask if you go to watch other games outside England, you switch over to your league ratings argument, and the number of top level players you know that have moved from league C to the Championship.

Sir, I have been impressed with the few games I have seen in the dutch league. Very high level IMO. my friends don't follow the opinions of people who don't actually watch these leagues. I will be taking out more time to watch other leagues this year, and will call out anyone out who just make unreasonable generalizations.

If you want to compare, watch them and compare.

I just hope some of us will say something new this year. Let's see some growth.

MODIFIED
Nevermind the argument. I always knew it was your biased opinion, as you rightly admitted.

You actually base your entire deductions on me, myself and I analysis. The SELF is prone to bias so a collective external substantiation gives credibility to your position.

But your approach is,Self-based, Self -justified. Self- assessed Self -centred, Self - induced and therefore SELF MADE

Why not take a more holistic can I even say an academic and objective approach. As you are going down the emotive route.

My position remains the same.

Can I ask which league had the highest number of teams in the last 16 of the Champions league. And how many Eredivisie teams were in it When was the last time a Eredivisie team got to the quarter finals if the Champions league

That should give a bit more objectivity.

The problem is many of you with this notion are just a noisy gong. You complain, without suggestions. True fans always hope for the best for the team.
We can only use what we have, and we will make the best of what we have. And what we have are young players with big dreams and promises. We are still in the building process. When we go past the second round in the WC, this young team will have exceeded the achievements of all our senior teams in the past. And I bet you, some of this players we now call average will make further progress in their careers and start to play for the big clubs. I will wait for some of you to eat your words.

Modified

Komekn 's solution is for us to overhaul the team with Championship players and all players that have been tried and tested in the EPL or Championship at one time in their careers. laughable.

goldfish80:


As it stands, I am quite skeptical about our chances in Russia. We cant be heading to the congregation of the best athletes in the world with just 1 in form player (a 20 year old playing for a mid table English club) and expect magic.

Did anyone see the Gernot Rohr super sports interview where he called his players "average players warming the bench in their clubs"?
I read that and felt he was directly responding to the 94/2018 debate we had here last December. Lol

I'm very clear about my approach. There is time for everything my friend. If we always go by objectivity, there will be no need to assess players by going to see them first hand -- that's subjectivity. There will be no need for clubs to send scouts to go and witness their targets actually play.. There will be no need to watch videos. Coaches will just sit back and recruit merely based on where the player plays, and if the player gets some game time.

Your form of objectivity is blind. It's one way. You need some balance my friend.

komekn:


You actually base your entire deductions on me, myself and I analysis. The SELF is prone to bias so a collective external substantiation gives credibility to your position.

But your approach is,Self-based, Self -justified. Self- assessed Self -centred, Self - induced and therefore SELF MADE

Why not take a more holistic can I even say an academic and objective approach. As you are going down the emotive route.

My position remains the same.

Can I ask which league had the highest number of teams in the last 16 of the Champions league. And how many Eredivisie teams were in it When was the last time a Eredivisie team got to the quarter finals if the Champions league

That should give a bit more objectivity.

Wether they will come or not is not the issue here, the issue is : 'Can he pay foreign players'?. If he can own that club, then he can pay them or is he not already paying them there?

Willing to come is another issue entirely, not this "we can't pay them excuse" you gave at first.

tbaba1234:


So He owns both clubs, does that mean that the players will be willing to play in Nigeria?

The owner of a club does not determine a player's decision. There is no incentive to play in Nigeria if it is not financially rewarding at the very least because it does not do anything for their career.

He's capable of paying them in Nigeria if he's already doing that in Portugal!

Your argument self, I no understand.

Joebie:
Could this be what is affecting the likes of Isaac Success?

OPINION

---

Former Man City star questions hunger of young players after Tosin Adarabioyo spends £2.25m on a mansion

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Young players are getting too much, too soon and the 'hunger' is being taken out of them by Premier League clubs.

That's the view of Paul Dickov, following The Sun's revelation that Manchester City's 20-year-old defender Tosin Adarabioyo has splurged £2.25million on a mansion.

Adarabioyo has never started a league game for City but takes home a weekly wage of £25,000-a-week.

Dickov said: I'm a huge believer of going back to the days when I was an apprentice; you got your grounding, you learnt your discipline, you were cleaning boots and changing rooms and you had to earn the right not just to get in the first team squad but to earn every penny you have got and keep that hunger there. That has slightly gone away from the game.

“You look at the England Under-17s, Under-19s, Under-21s going really well, winning things and everything else, and you want to keep that hunger there and not be given too much, too soon. That is what is happening at the minute and you wonder why they are not progressing.”


--TalkSport . com

I don't see much wrong with buying a mansion. Who is to say he doesn't sell it for profit down the line.
He can spend his money how he wants honestly.

komekn:


I can assure you there will be at least 44,000 Nigerian origin fans trying to get tickets. Add all the other West Africans and the rest of Africa who will adopt Nigeria.

Getting tickets willl be problematic.

Wembley will be full.

I don't doubt you but be assured that only a certain percentage of tickets will be allocated to Nigerian fans.

I can plan my next vacation to coincide with the game. Are you in Central London?

safarigirl:
LOL....if we go by this your funny list, yes, we are pathetic.

ahem, okay who are the players that i have missed out that would make us go from Pathetic to World Champions in waiting?

MetalJigsaw:
Why Skeptic, and why sound so negative in your last sentence?

Trust me I want us to do well BUT I feel we think we are better than we are. Many I have met here in London are already boasting about beating England. I wont get drawn on if we can win or not, no need for that. On paper are we stronger than England? Not being negative but just trying to give us a dose of reality, even this dose may not work.